Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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v.
AUDIE STEVEN PARDON,
ECF NO. 17
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Defendant.
OBJECTIONS DUE WITHIN FOURTEEN
(14) DAYS
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19 International, Inc., Sony/ATV Songs LLC, and Lost Boys Music (all plaintiffs collectively
20 referred to as Plaintiffs) filed a motion for default judgment. (ECF No. 17.) The motion for
21 default judgment was referred to the undersigned magistrate judge for Findings and
22 Recommendations pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(B) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72.
23 See Local Rule 302(c)(19).
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The hearing on the motion for default judgment took place on March 4, 2015. Karen S.
25 Frank appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs. No one appeared on behalf of Defendant Audie Steven
26 Pardon (Defendant). For the reasons set forth below, the Court recommends that Plaintiffs
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I.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs filed the complaint in this action on September 5, 2014.
5 Plaintiffs sued Defendant for copyright infringement. (Compl. 1.) Plaintiffs raised four claims
6 of copyright infringement arising from Defendants unauthorized public performance of four
7 musical compositions from the BMI Repertoire. (Compl. 11.) The four songs were Jessies
8 Girl, Mammas Dont Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, Take On Me, and Total
9 Eclipse Of The Heart. (Compl., at pp. 5-6.) Plaintiffs allege that these songs were publicly
10 played without authorization at Defendants business establishment, known as Audies
11 Olympic/Club Fred, located at 1426 North Van Ness Avenue, Fresno, California 93728.
12 (Compl. 9.) Plaintiffs allege that the infringement occurred on June 22, 2014. (Compl., at pp.
13 5-6.)
Plaintiffs sought and obtained entry of default against Defendant on October 7, 2014.
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15 (ECF Nos. 12, 14.) Defendant has not filed a responsive pleading or otherwise appeared in this
16 action. Plaintiff filed the present motion for default judgment on January 21, 2015. (ECF No.
17 17.)
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II.
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(2)
By the Court. In all other cases, the party must apply to
the court for a default judgment. A default judgment may be
entered against a minor or incompetent person only if represented
by a general guardian, conservator, or other like fiduciary who has
appeared. If the party against whom a default judgment is sought
has appeared personally or by a representative, that party or its
representative must be served with written notice of the application
at least 7 days before the hearing. The court may conduct hearings
or make referralspreserving any federal statutory right to a jury
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The partial grant language results from the Courts analysis regarding attorneys fees being requested and the
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Upon entry of default, the complaints factual allegations regarding liability are taken as
true. Geddes v. United Financial Group, 559 F.2d 557, 560 (9th Cir. 1977); Microsoft Corp. v.
Nop, 549 F. Supp. 2d 1233, 1235 (E.D. Cal. 2008). However, the complaints factual allegations
relating to the amount of damages are not taken as true. Geddes, 559 F.2d at 560. Accordingly,
the amount of damages must be proven at an evidentiary hearing or through other means.
Microsoft Corp., 549 F. Supp. 2d at 1236. Per Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(c), [a]
default judgment must not differ in kind from, or exceed in amount, what is demanded in the
pleadings.
Entry of default judgment is committed to the Courts discretion. Eitel v. McCool, 782
F.2d 1470, 1471 (9th Cir. 1986). The Ninth Circuit has set forth the following factors for the
court is to consider in exercising its discretion:
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(1) the possibility of prejudice to the plaintiff, (2) the merits of
plaintiff's substantive claim, (3) the sufficiency of the complaint,
(4) the sum of money at stake in the action; (5) the possibility of a
dispute concerning material facts; (6) whether the default was due
to excusable neglect, and (7) the strong policy underlying the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure favoring decisions on the merits.
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Id. at 1471-72.
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III.
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DISCUSSION
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A.
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For the reasons set forth below, the Court finds that default judgment is appropriate after
consideration of each of the Eitel factors.
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1.
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If default judgment is not entered, Plaintiff is effectively denied a remedy for the
violations alleged in this action until such time as the defendants in this action decide to appear
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1 in the litigation, which may never occur. Accordingly, the Court finds that this factor weighs in
2 favor of default judgment.
The Merits of Plaintiffs Substantive Claims and Sufficiency of the Complaint
2.
The Court is to evaluate the merits of the substantive claims alleged in the complaint as
5 well as the sufficiency of the complaint itself. In doing so, the Court looks to the complaint to
6 determine if the allegations contained within are sufficient to state a claim for the relief sought.
7 Danning v. Lavine, 572 F.2d 1386, 1388 (9th Cir. 1978).
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Plaintiffs complaint alleges violations of the United States Copyright Act. Under 17
9 U.S.C. 106, the owner of a copyright has the exclusive rights to perform the copyrighted work
10 publicly. Under 17 U.S.C. 501, the owner of a copyright may institute an action against an
11 infringer of that copyright. To establish a prima facie case of copyright infringement, a plaintiff
12 must demonstrate (1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of
13 the work that are original. Range Road Music, Inc. v. East Coast Foods, Inc., 668 F.3d 1148,
14 1153 (9th Cir. 2012) (quoting Funky Films, Inc. v. Time Warner Entertainment Co., 462 F.3d
15 1072, 1076 (9th Cir. 2006) (internal quotations omitted).
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Here, Plaintiffs allege that they own valid copyrights for the songs Jessies Girl,
17 Mammas Dont Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, Take On Me, and Total
18 Eclipse Of The Heart. Plaintiffs further allege that Defendant infringed upon the copyright by
19 publicly performing these songs at Defendants business establishment on June 22, 2014.
20 Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiffs complaint states sufficient allegations to support a
21 cognizable claim for copyright infringement. This factor weighs in favor of default judgment.
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3.
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Default judgment is disfavored where large amounts of money are involved or the award
24 would be unreasonable in light of the defendants actions. G & G Closed Circuit Events, LLC v.
25 Nguyen, No. 3:11-cv-06340-JW, 2012 WL 2339699, at *2 (N.D. Cal. May 30, 2012). In this
26 case, Plaintiffs seek statutory damages totaling $20,000.00, which represents four $5,000.00
27 awards associated with four claims of copyright infringement. Plaintiffs also seek costs and
28 attorneys fees in the amount of $4,755.00 under 17 U.S.C. 505, which authorizes an award of
The Court finds that only a relatively small amount of money is involved in this action
4.
Due to the factual allegations in the complaint being taken as true upon Defendants
6 default, there are no genuine of issues of material fact in dispute in this action. Accordingly, this
7 factor weighs in favor of granting default judgment.
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5.
Defendants have failed to file a responsive pleading or oppose the motion for default
10 judgment. There is no evidence before the Court that this failure was due to excusable neglect.
11 Therefore, this factor weighs in favor of granting default judgment.
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6.
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The Strong Policy Underlying the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Favoring
Decisions on the Merits
The policy favoring decisions on the merits always weighs against entering default
15 judgment. However, in this instance the factors favoring default judgment outweigh the policy
16 favoring a decision on the merits.
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B.
Relief Requested
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1.
Injunctive Relief
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Plaintiffs seek an injunction prohibiting Defendant from engaging any further activities
20 which would constitute copyright infringement. Such relief is expressly authorized by 17 U.S.C.
21 502. In copyright infringement actions, [a]s a general rule, a permanent injunction will be
22 granted when liability has been established and there is a threat of continuing violations. MAI
23 Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc., 991 F.2d 511, 520 (9th Cir. 1993).
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Plaintiffs submitted evidence that Defendant was advised of the copyright infringement
25 issue and was asked to purchase a license for the music performances, but received no response.
26 (Decl. of Brian Mullaney in Supp. of Pls. Mot. for Def. J. 3-9.)
Plaintiffs contacted
27 Defendant numerous times via letters, e-mails, and telephone. (Id.) After these communications,
28 Plaintiffs sent an agent to visit Defendants business establishment to witness and record the
1 instances of copyright infringement which occurred on June 22, 2014. (Id. at 10.) Based upon
2 this sequence of events, the Court finds that there is a threat of continuing violations and
3 injunctive relief is appropriate.
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2.
Statutory Damages
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Plaintiffs note that the license fees Defendants would have paid to legally perform the
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songs at issue would have been $4,208.75. Thus, the amounts requested in statutory damages are
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between three and four times the amount Defendant would have paid in license fees. The Court
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finds the requested statutory damages to be reasonable and appropriate.
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3.
Plaintiff seeks costs and attorneys fees in the amount of $4,755.00. Recovery of costs,
including attorneys fees, are authorized under 17 U.S.C. 505. [U]nder federal fee shifting
statutes the lodestar approach is the guiding light in determining a reasonable fee. Antoninetti
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v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 643 F.3d 1165, 1176 (9th Cir. 2010) (internal punctuation and
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citations omitted). The Ninth Circuit has explained the lodestar approach as follows:
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1 LLC, No. 2:12-cv-1196 KJM DAD, 2013 WL 2244641, at *1-2 (E.D. Cal. May 21, 2013).
2 Accordingly, the Court will recommend that the same rates be applied in this case. The Court
3 recommends that Plaintiff be awarded $2,140.00 in attorneys fees and $575 in costs.
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IV.
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An injunction issue enjoining Defendant, his agents, servants, employees, and all
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persons acting under their permission and authority from infringing, in any
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15 action, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(B) and this Courts Local Rule 304. Within fourteen
16 (14) days of service of this recommendation, any party may file written objections to these
17 findings and recommendations with the Court and serve a copy on all parties. Such a document
18 should be captioned Objections to Magistrate Judges Findings and Recommendations. The
19 district judge will review the magistrate judges findings and recommendations pursuant to 28
20 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(C). The parties are advised that failure to file objections within the specified
21 time may result in the waiver of rights on appeal. Wilkerson v. Wheeler, 772 F.3d 834, 839 (9th
22 Cir. 2014) (citing Baxter v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 1391, 1394 (9th Cir. 1991)).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
25 Dated:
March 4, 2015
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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